TRon

WTF... he probably started playing football at 7 or 8 years old so he's had 15 years at it. What makes you think he can learn to cross a ball after the age of 23 ? Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and I don't expect much if any improvement. Beckham did alright and he couldn't tackle, head a ball or dribble it round a corner flag never mind an opposing player. You think a player reaches his peak at 23? After about 2 years of playing first team football? Errr.. this is Newcastle. I can't think of any player that has improved by being here. Yes, they've got more experience, but better players ? We're renowned for ending careers. Surely if they were better players we'd get more money ( in real terms) than we paid for them, or relative to their peers in the transfer market. I don't hear of Enrique spending hours after training working on his crossing . Of course he'll be a better player in a few years, but I bet his crossing is still shit. I don't recall Miloners crossing being any better after his time here. I think Enrique's main quality is actually being a very good defender. The Leceicester winger N'Guiessen was a handful, but Enrique pretty much tamed him as the game went on. Also, while his crossing is hit and miss, his general work down the left flank is pretty much our main source of getting the ball into the opposition half. We don't usually have anybody on the other side providing much by comparison.

No big surprise really, failing to attract players in the transfer window is par for the course under Ashley, even when we are aiming for unknown players and sitting at the top of the table we aren't an attractive proposition. FFS, Jordan Stewart preferred to move to Sheffield Utd, that's how poor our negotiating position has become under Fatso.

I think most of the arguments on here are academic anyway. Shearer didn't really prove himself a good or bad manager in his spell last season, pretty difficult to come to any conclusions on the basis of 8 games. The fact is he priced himself out of the job with Ashley and he's only going to get the job if someone pays enough money to buy the club which looks like pie in the sky right now. So he isn't a realistic option as it stands.

The same thought crossed my mind whether he could be used as an emergency CB, you would have thought he'd have the attribtes ahead of Danny Simpson. I suppose the question mark would be in the air. For all Simpson is small, he's got a good leap and he's game.

If Ashley really wants a sale he'll have to drop his price some, it's as simple as that and always has been. I'll be amazed if these yanks or anyone else comes through and proves this wrong but according to Redheugh they will.

You can't have watched much of NUFC over the last few years then. I have & attended during the late 70's so I have seen plenty of s***. For a player who has so many strengths his crossing almost defies belief. Jonas' delivery is poor but whereas he may misplace his cross by a few feet Jose usually misses by at least 10 feet. Against that, Enrique's crosses are usually delivered with bad intent, so the ones which he does get right can be almost undefendable. They are the diametric opposite of former players like Milner and Neil Macdonald (remember him?) who floated high accurate crosses which defenders coped with easily.

I would agree with most of that but with a couple of provisos. Firstly the one slight doubt I have in my mind over Shearer is man management. I never liked him as a person in the way I did Keegan and I do wonder if the players will give 100% for him when I see him openly discussing the squad shortcomings on tv. Still to prove himself on that score for me, although it's just a minor doubt. Secondly, I think he's probably missed a trick by making demands that Ashley just wasn't prepared to meet. While it's good that he's ambitious, in effect it's given Ashley the chance to slip Hughton in there and he's took it with both hands, now Shearer is on the outside looking in. It's turned out to be a serious misjudgement of not just the capability of the current squad at this level but also makes it look like he doesn't have the capability to work within a very restricted budget. In the long run though, I still think he's a more natural boss than Hughton.

Just wondering does Nolan have any traces of Nigerian ancestry?

Agree with that Ditto that. I just think he will complement the players we already in the squad, but I hope he is used mainly as a striker, he isn't a midfielder by any stretch of the imagination.

Racism has no place on this forum. I think it can be afforded a minor role.

So what do I win? Nothing. If you count Xisco, then it's one out, one in which equals 0. That makes me the winner as it happens, 1st is 1st and 2nd is nowhere.

Centre back is the area I'm most concerned about as I reckon Kadar is decent cover for Enrique at LB. At least Coloccini's still here, and we still have Jonas to provide a wing option.

Could be crucial this signing so I'm happy about that at least. I didn't even expect this much if I'm honest.

Well you don't get much more mysterious than that.

Mystery solved....the mystery players are having medicals....at Portsmouth.

One of them will be Lovenkrands, the other one will be Simpson (delayed announcement)

Id rather have Messi than Lovelypants tbh bit unrealistic imo. Ok we'll make do with Carew then. Pah!

Yeah...we usually have 100 people online everyone posting madly in anticipation then fuck all at the end of it. Wouldn't be too surprised to see a repeat scenario today tbh.

Its not that simple though. Stoke had a Championship team on paper and finished 12th. It comes down to good management and team spirit. Two things we didn't have last year and Stoke did. Now we have and we also have the quality, which is why we look like running away with the league. Say there are 150 players in this classification. Then not all of them can play for the 3 teams that get relegated. I take your point about management but that wasnt what i was talking about. I was talking about the gulf in class in the leagues and how some players can therefore fall between the two. But we aren't one of those sides who are full of players too good for the championship but not good enough for the prem. Nolan, Smith, Jonas, Barton, Harper, Guthrie, Taylor and Enrique are proven Premiership players, who we are spoilt and blessed to have in this league. Butt and Geremi are proven but have arguably seen better days. The only players i'd maybe put in that category are Ameobi and Ryan Taylor. Ameobi clearly a class apart in this division but won't get 20 goals in the Premiership. Having said that Taylor still did well for Wigan and Ameobi would probably do well for someone like Burnley or Bolton. So no i don't think we've actually got any players who aren't good enough for the Premiership. Fair enough but if you think we have the nucleus of a side already that will be able to keep in us in the premiership if we get promoted then we disagree. I think Guthrie can improve, Barton is good enough, Jonas should be but is lacking in ccutting edge, Nolan is ok but would not provide the strongest link in a prem team and Smith the same. Enrique is a great defender but gives the ball away even at this level too many times. You're also essentially denying that the gulf in class between the leagues exists. This gulf logically creates this class of player, since individual ability isnt determined by TV revenue but club quality unfortunately is in the long-run. The gap is mostly between the top half and the bottom half of the Premiership and then between the big 4 and the rest. The Championship is a poor division in terms of quality which is why teams coming up need to strengthen. The likes of Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth, Hull and last seasons promoted sides etc are in my opinion inferior to what we have. Allardyce kept blackburn up through good management and grinding out results, while we had to put up with the farce with Keegan, JFK and then try and rely on a guy with no coaching experience to get us out of trouble. If we go up with this squad then we clearly would need to add to it and will do. The main thing is a realiable Premiership goalscorer. Had Michael owen done what he was paid for, then we wouldn't have been in any trouble. I disagree that Allardyce kept Blackburn up with good management, he stumbled upon a set of players which fit his long ball blueprint. if he'd been a good manager he'd have made better use of the players he had at Newcastle rather than trying to play the same brand of football with players who weren't suited to it. He still wouldn't have relegated us though. Yeah, his methods are pretty effective at just avoiding relegation. And top 6 finishes at Bolton. yes he's still living on that season isn't he?

Its not that simple though. Stoke had a Championship team on paper and finished 12th. It comes down to good management and team spirit. Two things we didn't have last year and Stoke did. Now we have and we also have the quality, which is why we look like running away with the league. Say there are 150 players in this classification. Then not all of them can play for the 3 teams that get relegated. I take your point about management but that wasnt what i was talking about. I was talking about the gulf in class in the leagues and how some players can therefore fall between the two. But we aren't one of those sides who are full of players too good for the championship but not good enough for the prem. Nolan, Smith, Jonas, Barton, Harper, Guthrie, Taylor and Enrique are proven Premiership players, who we are spoilt and blessed to have in this league. Butt and Geremi are proven but have arguably seen better days. The only players i'd maybe put in that category are Ameobi and Ryan Taylor. Ameobi clearly a class apart in this division but won't get 20 goals in the Premiership. Having said that Taylor still did well for Wigan and Ameobi would probably do well for someone like Burnley or Bolton. So no i don't think we've actually got any players who aren't good enough for the Premiership. Fair enough but if you think we have the nucleus of a side already that will be able to keep in us in the premiership if we get promoted then we disagree. I think Guthrie can improve, Barton is good enough, Jonas should be but is lacking in ccutting edge, Nolan is ok but would not provide the strongest link in a prem team and Smith the same. Enrique is a great defender but gives the ball away even at this level too many times. You're also essentially denying that the gulf in class between the leagues exists. This gulf logically creates this class of player, since individual ability isnt determined by TV revenue but club quality unfortunately is in the long-run. The gap is mostly between the top half and the bottom half of the Premiership and then between the big 4 and the rest. The Championship is a poor division in terms of quality which is why teams coming up need to strengthen. The likes of Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth, Hull and last seasons promoted sides etc are in my opinion inferior to what we have. Allardyce kept blackburn up through good management and grinding out results, while we had to put up with the farce with Keegan, JFK and then try and rely on a guy with no coaching experience to get us out of trouble. If we go up with this squad then we clearly would need to add to it and will do. The main thing is a realiable Premiership goalscorer. Had Michael owen done what he was paid for, then we wouldn't have been in any trouble. I disagree that Allardyce kept Blackburn up with good management, he stumbled upon a set of players which fit his long ball blueprint. if he'd been a good manager he'd have made better use of the players he had at Newcastle rather than trying to play the same brand of football with players who weren't suited to it. He still wouldn't have relegated us though. Yeah, his methods are pretty effective at just avoiding relegation.

Harewood would improve at this level in the same way Shola has, and tbh he's just the type of powerful forward who would add something to the side, in the same way Lovenkrands will with his pace and goal instinct.

Its not that simple though. Stoke had a Championship team on paper and finished 12th. It comes down to good management and team spirit. Two things we didn't have last year and Stoke did. Now we have and we also have the quality, which is why we look like running away with the league. Say there are 150 players in this classification. Then not all of them can play for the 3 teams that get relegated. I take your point about management but that wasnt what i was talking about. I was talking about the gulf in class in the leagues and how some players can therefore fall between the two. But we aren't one of those sides who are full of players too good for the championship but not good enough for the prem. Nolan, Smith, Jonas, Barton, Harper, Guthrie, Taylor and Enrique are proven Premiership players, who we are spoilt and blessed to have in this league. Butt and Geremi are proven but have arguably seen better days. The only players i'd maybe put in that category are Ameobi and Ryan Taylor. Ameobi clearly a class apart in this division but won't get 20 goals in the Premiership. Having said that Taylor still did well for Wigan and Ameobi would probably do well for someone like Burnley or Bolton. So no i don't think we've actually got any players who aren't good enough for the Premiership. Fair enough but if you think we have the nucleus of a side already that will be able to keep in us in the premiership if we get promoted then we disagree. I think Guthrie can improve, Barton is good enough, Jonas should be but is lacking in ccutting edge, Nolan is ok but would not provide the strongest link in a prem team and Smith the same. Enrique is a great defender but gives the ball away even at this level too many times. You're also essentially denying that the gulf in class between the leagues exists. This gulf logically creates this class of player, since individual ability isnt determined by TV revenue but club quality unfortunately is in the long-run. The gap is mostly between the top half and the bottom half of the Premiership and then between the big 4 and the rest. The Championship is a poor division in terms of quality which is why teams coming up need to strengthen. The likes of Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth, Hull and last seasons promoted sides etc are in my opinion inferior to what we have. Allardyce kept blackburn up through good management and grinding out results, while we had to put up with the farce with Keegan, JFK and then try and rely on a guy with no coaching experience to get us out of trouble. If we go up with this squad then we clearly would need to add to it and will do. The main thing is a realiable Premiership goalscorer. Had Michael owen done what he was paid for, then we wouldn't have been in any trouble. I disagree that Allardyce kept Blackburn up with good management, he stumbled upon a set of players which fit his long ball blueprint. if he'd been a good manager he'd have made better use of the players he had at Newcastle rather than trying to play the same brand of football with players who weren't suited to it.

I think that the players could all do a job for a Premier side but we had too many of the same type to play in one team. A bunch of one-paced midfielders with little creativity might get us results in the Championship but in the Premier teams are far stronger and faster, although I agree we shouldn't have finished in the bottom three.

It's a pain, Keep the bullshit for the other blog please, I'd like to know which bids are credible, if any.

Oh behave will ya. Name a better one then? West Ham went down with a better team but they all left. We've managed to keep a team of Premiership quality players together. Not a squad admittedly but the youngsters and loan signings from the Premier league, plus one or two more in today will more than make up the numbers. two or three astute signings will make this league a cakewalk but we'll have to see what today brings. As it stands this squad isn't big enough to cope IMO.